Purpose In the present-day context marked by global environmental and social challenges, cultural heritage must be wisely endorsed as a resource for sustainable development and the quality of life of a society in continuous evolution, as stated by the Faro Convention (Council of Europe, 2005). To achieve this purpose, community-driven strategies are demanded for a holistic and integrated approach defended by the Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape – HUL (UNESCO, 2011). This new strategy encourages us to implement innovative methodologies in the training of future architects who will work in urban heritage management, hence the importance of heritage education in higher education. Hence, the aim of the research is to deepen on methodologies for cultural significance mapping framed in the HUL context developed with students in higher education, supported by the process of “learning by doing”, taking as a starting point academic courses framed within the University of Seville and the UNESCO Chair “Heritage, Cities and Landscapes. Sustainable Management, Conservation, Planning and Design” at the University of Porto. Design/methodology/approach Based on these experiences, these methods were adapted in a workshop at the Faro Convention International Conference (31 January 2024) with a group of academics and professionals, in order to test its implementation in a real context with distinct actors and stakeholders. A practical exercise is proposed of cultural mapping (attributes and values) at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto, in the World Heritage Tentative List since 2017. Methodology is supported by the crossed analysis of different methods and tools: (1) field work observation; (2) attributes’ mapping and listing; (3) presentation and discussion on a shared map (attributes) and (4) group reflection on the values. Workshop groups included different backgrounds and perspectives, namely academics, municipal officers, heritage managers and citizens. Findings Results demonstrated the awareness of the breadth of the notion of heritage: buildings, urban ensembles and landscape; tangible and intangible, natural and cultural; ancient and contemporary. In addition, the workshop allowed us to reflect on the difference between attributes and values, as determined in the HUL Recommendation. Originality/value This article highlights the richness of the results obtained by involving different perspectives and framework from the disciplines and students participating in the workshop, as well as the importance of mapping tangible and intangible attributes, resulting in a new heritage understanding of the cultural significance of the place. Hence, these cartographies allow for a perception of cultural heritage in permanent relation to the context, as well as for emphasising the multi-scale and transdisciplinary dimension demanded heritage management and conservation.
Pérez et al. (Sat,) studied this question.